Felton Road Block 1 Riesling 2024

Vineyard & Viticulture 

Felton Road farms four properties totaling 34 ha in the Bannockburn subregion of Central Otago.  Block 1 is a north facing slope immediately west of Block 3 on The Elms vineyard. It consists of the same Waenga soils (deep silt loams) as Block 3 and starkly contrasts the schist gravel soils of our Riesling in Blocks 2 and 4. Meticulous summer management of a single vertical shoot positioned (VSP) canopy ensures even and early fruit maturity. Shoot thinning, shoot positioning, leaf plucking, bunch thinning and harvest are all carried out by hand to ensure optimum quality fruit. Cover crops are planted between rows to assist in vine balance and to improve soil health and general biodiversity.

Vinification 

Riesling from Block 1 was carefully hand-picked on April 19 followed by whole bunch pressing. The juice was settled for 6 days, then racked and followed by a relatively fast 2 week fermentation with indigenous yeasts. The fermentation was stopped by chilling to balance the high natural acidity with residual sweetness of 56g/L, resulting in the low alcohol of 9.5%. The wine rested on fine lees with minimal processing (no fining or cold stabilisation) before bottling in lateAugust to highlight the delicate Riesling characters.

Tasting Note

Intense aromas of nectarine and apricot are complimented by attractive florals and hints of marzipan. Mature Riesling vines grown in the heavy silt loam soils of north facing Block 1, has, as always, produced this distinctive, pure and refreshing style of Riesling. The natural sweetness is there, but attractively bound in the bright acidity and light (9.5% alc) framework. Irresistible now, but also extremely age-worthy for further complexities to emerge.